Matthew 16

¹⁶And others tested Him by demanding a sign from heaven.

¹While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,

⁶“Watch out!” Jesus told them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

⁶They said this to test Him, in order to have a basis for accusing Him. But Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with His finger.

²²Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom,

¹¹Then the Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, testing Him by demanding from Him a sign from heaven.

¹²Jesus sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”

⁵⁴Then Jesus said to the crowds, “As soon as you see a cloud rising in the west, you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and that is what happens.

⁵⁵And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It will be hot,’ and it is.

⁵⁶You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky. Why don’t you know how to interpret the present time?

³²From Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do: 200 chiefs with all their kinsmen at their command.

¹⁵“You hypocrites!” the Lord replied. “Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it to water?

⁵The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

¹³Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.

⁴⁴Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without even noticing.”

²⁹As the crowds were increasing, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.

³⁰For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so the Son of Man will be a sign to this generation.

³⁹Jesus replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

⁴⁰For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

¹⁷Now the Lord had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish.

¹²Jesus sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”

³⁸If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

¹⁴Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

¹³And He left them, got back into the boat, and crossed to the other side.

¹⁴Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.

³⁹After Jesus had dismissed the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

¹In the meantime, a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling one another. Jesus began to speak first to His disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

¹²Then they understood that He was not telling them to beware of the leaven used in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

⁹A little leaven works through the whole batch of dough.

¹¹No grain offering that you present to the Lord may be made with leaven, for you are not to burn any leaven or honey as a food offering to the Lord.

⁶Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough?

⁷Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

¹⁵“Watch out!” He cautioned them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.”

¹⁶So they began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread.

¹⁷Aware of their conversation, Jesus asked them, “Why are you debating about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Do you have such hard hearts?

⁴⁶Then an argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest.

¹⁴“No, Lord!” Peter answered. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”

¹⁶“Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked.

¹⁷“Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated?

¹⁰So they kept this matter to themselves, discussing what it meant to rise from the dead.

³⁰If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

²⁶“You of little faith,” Jesus replied, “why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was perfectly calm.

³¹Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and took hold of Peter. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”

¹⁴Later, as they were eating, Jesus appeared to the Eleven and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.

²⁴But Jesus did not entrust Himself to them, for He knew them all.

²⁵He did not need any testimony about man, for He knew what was in a man.

¹³Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

¹⁷“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

¹⁸“Bring them here to Me,” Jesus said.

⁹“Here is a boy with five barley loaves and two small fish. But what difference will these make among so many?”

¹⁰“Have the people sit down,” Jesus said. Now there was plenty of grass in that place, so the men sat down, about five thousand of them.

¹³But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.” “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.”

¹⁴(There were about five thousand men.) He told His disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”

³⁸“Go and see how many loaves you have,” He told them. And after checking, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

³⁹Then Jesus directed them to have the people sit in groups on the green grass.

¹⁶“Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked.

¹⁷“Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated?

²⁵Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!

²⁶Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then to enter His glory?”

³⁴“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

³⁵And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground.

¹⁷Aware of their conversation, Jesus asked them, “Why are you debating about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Do you have such hard hearts?

¹⁸‘Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear?’ And do you not remember?

⁵“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied.

⁶And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then He took the seven loaves, gave thanks and broke them, and gave them to His disciples to set before the people. And they distributed them to the crowd.

²¹Then He asked them, “Do you still not understand?”

⁴⁰“Why are you so afraid?” He asked. “Do you still have no faith?”

⁶“Watch out!” Jesus told them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

⁵⁶You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky. Why don’t you know how to interpret the present time?

⁴³Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message.

²⁰For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

⁸For the Sadducees say that there is neither a resurrection nor angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

¹³Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.

¹⁴

⁴For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’

⁵But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’

¹⁸One day as Jesus was praying in private and the disciples were with Him, He questioned them: “Who do the crowds say I am?”

¹⁹They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that a prophet of old has arisen.”

²⁷Then Jesus and His disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way, He questioned His disciples: “Who do people say I am?”

²⁸They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

¹³In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence.

²⁷And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.

⁶But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” Then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.”

¹⁴Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil,

¹⁵and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

¹⁵Others were saying, “He is Elijah,” and still others, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”

²and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

⁵Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the Lord.

¹⁷So once again they asked the man who had been blind, “What do you say about Him, since it was your eyes He opened?” “He is a prophet,” the man replied.

¹⁸One day as Jesus was praying in private and the disciples were with Him, He questioned them: “Who do the crowds say I am?”

¹⁹They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that a prophet of old has arisen.”

¹²Many in the crowds were whispering about Him. Some said, “He is a good man.” But others replied, “No, He deceives the people.”

²⁰“But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

²⁹“But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”

¹¹He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.

²⁷“Yes, Lord,” she answered, “I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”

³³Then those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God!”

¹⁵If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

⁵⁴When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”

¹⁰To this end we labor and strive, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, and especially of those who believe.

²⁰Saul promptly began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, declaring, “He is the Son of God.”

⁴⁵It is written in the Prophets: ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to Me—

¹⁷that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.

¹⁸I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,

²⁵At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

²⁶Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.

¹⁶to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood,

²⁰And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

⁵⁰Now I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

¹⁹Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household,

²⁰built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.

⁹For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

¹⁰By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds.

¹⁶So this is what the Lord God says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.

¹⁸And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence.

¹A song of ascents. Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved; it abides forever.

²As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people, both now and forevermore.

⁴²Andrew brought him to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated as Peter).

¹⁸Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

²²I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.

¹⁸the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.

²³If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”

⁷To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the One who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open.

¹⁰If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And if I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven it in the presence of Christ for your sake,

³⁰And Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about Him.

²¹Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.

⁴¹He first found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated as Christ).

⁹As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone about this vision until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

³⁶After the voice had spoken, only Jesus was present with them. The disciples kept this to themselves, and in those days they did not tell anyone what they had seen.

⁴Then Jesus instructed him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift prescribed by Moses, as a testimony to them.”

⁶He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you while He was still in Galilee:

⁷‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’”

²²When they gathered together in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.

²³They will kill Him, and on the third day He will be raised to life.” And the disciples were deeply grieved.

¹⁷As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside and said,

¹⁸“Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn Him to death

³For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

⁴that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

¹²But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him whatever they wished. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.”

⁶³“Sir,” they said, “we remember that while He was alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’

³²He spoke this message quite frankly, and Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.

¹¹Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands, and said, “The Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and hand him over to the Gentiles.’”

¹²When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.

⁶He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?”

⁷Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

⁵¹At this, one of Jesus’ companions drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

⁵²“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him. “For all who draw the sword will die by the sword.

¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.

⁵Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

⁶The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace,

²Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

¹⁹Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.

³³But Jesus, turning and looking at His disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

¹⁴The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

¹⁵The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment.

¹⁰“Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus told him. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

³⁸and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.

²⁷And whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.

¹Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin.

²Consequently, he does not live out his remaining time on earth for human passions, but for the will of God.

²³Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

²⁴For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

²¹Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, “There is one thing you lack: Go, sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

³⁴Then Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples, and He told them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.

³⁹Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

¹¹They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives so as to shy away from death.

³⁵For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and for the gospel will save it.

²⁵Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

³³Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.

²³I only know that in town after town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions await me.

²⁴But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

⁸For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?

³⁶What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?

³⁷Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

²⁵What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self?

²⁰But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’

⁷No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God.

⁸For the redemption of his soul is costly, and never can payment suffice,

²⁵But Abraham answered, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, while you are in agony.

¹²and loving devotion to You, O Lord. For You will repay each man according to his deeds.

¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.

⁶God “will repay each one according to his deeds.”

¹²So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

¹⁰I, the Lord, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.

¹²“Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done.

¹³I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

²⁷But I tell you truly, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

¹Then Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God arrive with power.”

⁵²“Now we know that You have a demon!” declared the Jews. “Abraham died, and so did the prophets, yet You say that anyone who keeps Your word will never taste death.

⁶⁴“You have said it yourself,” Jesus answered. “But I say to all of you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

²³When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. Truly I tell you, you will not reach all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

²⁷At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

²⁸When these things begin to happen, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”